Reed seizes back the advantage

Chad Reed (Suzuki) has taken full advantage of a lap 15 stumble by arch-rival James Stewart (Yamaha) to win his third AMA supercross final of the year at St Louis on March 21.

Stewart was undoubtedly the fastest rider on the track at St Louis, but his evening was tarnished by three crashes - and the last one could be a defining moment in the championship.

That allowed Reed to seize back the lead, and he was then unchallenged again en route to a winning margin of nearly five seconds.

"Like I say every week, you got to be in it to win it and that's what we're doing," said Reed. "I'm having a ball out here. The track was just awesome tonight. Travis (Pastrana) designed a great track. I just love this St. Louis dirt. James started hitting his lines early on and pulled away, but I just kept my head down."

After 12 rounds of 17, Reed has now extended his advantage over Stewart to 11pts (271 to 260), with Andrew Short (Honda, 197) now in a clear third from Josh Grant (Yamaha, 172) and Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki, 165).

Grant was third at the Travis Pastrana-designed Edwards Jones Dome layout, from Short, Jason Lawrence (Yamaha) and Ivan Tedesco (Honda) - the top six leaving the other finalists in their wake.

Pastrana a freestyle motocross icon, competed on his own track, but failed to make the final on a Suzuki.

Australian Michael Byrne (Suzuki) did not compete after dislocating his shoulder in Daytona's round 10.

In Supercross Lites, Honda's Blake Wharton was the victor from Austin Stroupe (Kawasaki) and Nico Izzi (Suzuki).

Championship leader Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki) suffered for a bad start and finished fifth.

Round 13 wil be held in Toronto this weekend.

For full results and standings, click here.